Steve Rachmad Announces ‘3-6-9’ EP on Dekmantel Ahead of 45-Year Career Milestone
A foundational figure in Dutch techno, Steve Rachmad returns with a new EP on Dekmantel that reaffirms his status as one of the genre’s most enduring architects. Titled ‘3-6-9’, the release captures the essence of Rachmad’s sound: raw, soulful and machine-driven techno built with precision and decades of instinct. The EP also precedes his forthcoming album ‘Light and Time’, set for release on July 31st via Dekmantel Records.
Also known through aliases such as Sterac and Parallel 9, Rachmad has long operated at the intersection of funk, groove and futurism. On ‘3-6-9’, he leans fully into that lineage, delivering three cuts that feel both rooted in the foundations of the genre and sharply tuned for contemporary dancefloors.
The relationship between Rachmad and Dekmantel runs deep. A regular presence at the festival over the years, he is set to perform twice at Dekmantel Festival 2026, alongside appearances at Dekmantel Selectors later in the summer. The EP arrives as a precursor to the upcoming album and a world tour, marking an extraordinary 45 years in electronic music, a journey that stretches back to electro funk beginnings and tracks the early transatlantic spread of house and techno from Chicago and Detroit.
Musically, ‘3-6-9’ wastes no time asserting itself. Lead single ‘3 Creation Energy’, drives forward with a raucous, rave-ready spirit, its brassy synth hook cutting through with controlled distortion while the drums lock into a classic jack. ‘6 Physical Manifestation’ takes a more restrained but no less intense route, building tension through rolling filters and tightly wound energy. Closing track ‘9 Completion and Delivery’ opens into expansive territory, its arpeggiated leads unfolding into sweeping pads that bring a sense of resolution and scale.
There’s no conceptual puzzle to decode here, just expertly crafted techno from an artist whose life’s work is inseparable from the culture itself. With ‘3-6-9’, Rachmad once again demonstrates that mastery isn’t about reinvention for its own sake, but about refining a language he helped define.
